Constance Reid
Encyclopedia
Constance Bowman Reid
was the author of several biographies of mathematicians and popular books about mathematics. She received several awards for mathematical exposition. She was not a mathematician but comes from a mathematical family: Her sister is Julia Robinson
and her brother-in-law is Raphael M. Robinson
.
, the daughter of Ralph Bowers Bowman and Helen (Hall) Bowman. Her younger sister is the mathematician Julia Robinson
. The family moved to Arizona
and then to San Diego when the girls were a few years old.
In 1950 she married a law student, Neil D. Reid, with whom she had two children, Julia and Stewart.
Reid received a Bachelor of Arts
degree from San Diego State University
in 1938 and a Master of Education
degree from University of California, Berkeley
in 1949. She worked as a teacher of English and journalism from 1939 to 1950, and as a free-lance writer since then. She has said, "I always wanted to be a writer, but it took me a while to find my subject."
bomber factory, Slacks and Calluses, published in 1944. She also published a short story.
Her first mathematical publication was an article on perfect numbers for Scientific American
. Reid remarked in an interview that some readers objected to her as an author: "But the readers (maybe, just one reader, I have forgotten now) objected that articles in Scientific American should be written by authorities in their fields and not by housewives!"
The Scientific American article led to an invitation from Robert L. Crowell of the Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
publishing house to write "a little book on numbers" that became From Zero to Infinity. Two more popular math books for Crowell followed: Introduction to Higher Mathematics: For the General Reader in 1959 and A Long Way from Euclid in 1963.
After writing these books she felt she had run out of ideas, and her sister Julia Robinson
suggested that she should update Eric Temple Bell
's collection of mathematical biographies, Men of Mathematics
.
After travelling to Göttingen
to absorb some mathematical culture, Reid decided instead to write a full-length biography of David Hilbert
, who she considered the greatest mathematician of the first half of the twentieth century. Julia encouraged her in this project, and the biography was published in 1970 as Hilbert. The Hilbert biography was a success among mathematicians, and her next book was a biography of another Göttingen figure, Richard Courant
, published in 1976 as Courant in Göttingen and New York. Her next book, published in 1982, was a biography of the mathematical statistician Jerzy Neyman
, who like Courant had emigrated to the United States and built a new career there.
An attempt to write a biography of Eric Temple Bell
proved unexpectedly difficult, as he had been very secretive about his early life. Reid discovered that Bell, a native of Scotland, as a young man had spent twelve years in the United States
but had never revealed this to his wife or his son. The resulting book, The Search for E. T. Bell, published in 1993, is more of a detective story than a true biography.
Her sister Julia gradually became more famous, and was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
in 1976 and President of the American Mathematical Society
in 1983. Several people had suggested to Constance that she write a biography of Julia, but Julia always refused to cooperate because she felt scientific biographies should be about science, not about personalities. In 1985, when Julia was dying, she unbent enough to allow Constance to write a biographical sketch of her, that was published after Julia's death as "The Autobiography of Julia Robinson" (written by Constance but written in the first person as if by Julia) The sketch was published with additional material as a book, Julia: A Life in Mathematics in 1996.
was the author of several biographies of mathematicians and popular books about mathematics. She received several awards for mathematical exposition. She was not a mathematician but comes from a mathematical family: Her sister is Julia Robinson
Julia Robinson
Julia Hall Bowman Robinson was an American mathematician best known for her work on decision problems and Hilbert's Tenth Problem.-Background and education:...
and her brother-in-law is Raphael M. Robinson
Raphael M. Robinson
Raphael Mitchel Robinson was an American mathematician.Born in National City, California, Robinson was the youngest of four children of a lawyer and a teacher. He was awarded the BA , MA , and Ph.D. , all in mathematics, and all from the University of California, Berkeley. His Ph.D...
.
Background and education
Reid was born in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, the daughter of Ralph Bowers Bowman and Helen (Hall) Bowman. Her younger sister is the mathematician Julia Robinson
Julia Robinson
Julia Hall Bowman Robinson was an American mathematician best known for her work on decision problems and Hilbert's Tenth Problem.-Background and education:...
. The family moved to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and then to San Diego when the girls were a few years old.
In 1950 she married a law student, Neil D. Reid, with whom she had two children, Julia and Stewart.
Reid received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
in 1938 and a Master of Education
Master of Education
The Master of Education is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in a large number of countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum and instruction, counseling, and administration. It is often conferred for educators advancing in...
degree from University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1949. She worked as a teacher of English and journalism from 1939 to 1950, and as a free-lance writer since then. She has said, "I always wanted to be a writer, but it took me a while to find my subject."
Works
Reid's first published work was a memoir of her work in a World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bomber factory, Slacks and Calluses, published in 1944. She also published a short story.
Her first mathematical publication was an article on perfect numbers for Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
. Reid remarked in an interview that some readers objected to her as an author: "But the readers (maybe, just one reader, I have forgotten now) objected that articles in Scientific American should be written by authorities in their fields and not by housewives!"
The Scientific American article led to an invitation from Robert L. Crowell of the Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
Thomas Y. Crowell Co. was a publishing company founded by Thomas Y. Crowell in 1834 in the United States.-History:The company began publishing books in 1876, and in 1882 T. Irving Crowell joined his father in the business. Jeremiah Osborne Crowell became the sales manager.In 1909, after Thomas Y....
publishing house to write "a little book on numbers" that became From Zero to Infinity. Two more popular math books for Crowell followed: Introduction to Higher Mathematics: For the General Reader in 1959 and A Long Way from Euclid in 1963.
After writing these books she felt she had run out of ideas, and her sister Julia Robinson
Julia Robinson
Julia Hall Bowman Robinson was an American mathematician best known for her work on decision problems and Hilbert's Tenth Problem.-Background and education:...
suggested that she should update Eric Temple Bell
Eric Temple Bell
Eric Temple Bell , was a mathematician and science fiction author born in Scotland who lived in the U.S. for most of his life...
's collection of mathematical biographies, Men of Mathematics
Men of Mathematics
Men of Mathematics is a book on the history of mathematics written in 1937 by the mathematician E.T. Bell. After a brief chapter on three ancient mathematicians, the remainder of the book is devoted to the lives of about forty mathematicians who worked in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth...
.
After travelling to Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
to absorb some mathematical culture, Reid decided instead to write a full-length biography of David Hilbert
David Hilbert
David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
, who she considered the greatest mathematician of the first half of the twentieth century. Julia encouraged her in this project, and the biography was published in 1970 as Hilbert. The Hilbert biography was a success among mathematicians, and her next book was a biography of another Göttingen figure, Richard Courant
Richard Courant
Richard Courant was a German American mathematician.- Life :Courant was born in Lublinitz in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia. During his youth, his parents had to move quite often, to Glatz, Breslau, and in 1905 to Berlin. He stayed in Breslau and entered the university there...
, published in 1976 as Courant in Göttingen and New York. Her next book, published in 1982, was a biography of the mathematical statistician Jerzy Neyman
Jerzy Neyman
Jerzy Neyman , born Jerzy Spława-Neyman, was a Polish American mathematician and statistician who spent most of his professional career at the University of California, Berkeley.-Life and career:...
, who like Courant had emigrated to the United States and built a new career there.
An attempt to write a biography of Eric Temple Bell
Eric Temple Bell
Eric Temple Bell , was a mathematician and science fiction author born in Scotland who lived in the U.S. for most of his life...
proved unexpectedly difficult, as he had been very secretive about his early life. Reid discovered that Bell, a native of Scotland, as a young man had spent twelve years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
but had never revealed this to his wife or his son. The resulting book, The Search for E. T. Bell, published in 1993, is more of a detective story than a true biography.
Her sister Julia gradually became more famous, and was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1976 and President of the American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
in 1983. Several people had suggested to Constance that she write a biography of Julia, but Julia always refused to cooperate because she felt scientific biographies should be about science, not about personalities. In 1985, when Julia was dying, she unbent enough to allow Constance to write a biographical sketch of her, that was published after Julia's death as "The Autobiography of Julia Robinson" (written by Constance but written in the first person as if by Julia) The sketch was published with additional material as a book, Julia: A Life in Mathematics in 1996.
Awards
Reid won several awards for mathematical exposition. These include:- Mathematical Association of AmericaMathematical Association of AmericaThe Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
's George PólyaGeorge PólyaGeorge Pólya was a Hungarian mathematician. He was a professor of mathematics from 1914 to 1940 at ETH Zürich and from 1940 to 1953 at Stanford University. He made fundamental contributions to combinatorics, number theory, numerical analysis and probability theory...
Award in 1987 for her article "The Autobiography of Julia Robinson" - Mathematical Association of AmericaMathematical Association of AmericaThe Mathematical Association of America is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists;...
's Beckenbach Book Prize in 1996 for her book The Search for E. T. Bell : Also Known as John Taine - Joint Policy Board for MathematicsJoint Policy Board for MathematicsThe Joint Policy Board for Mathematics consists of the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics....
1998 Communications Award for the body of her work in bringing accurate mathematical information to non-mathematical audiences
Publications
- From zero to infinity. What makes numbers interesting. Fifth edition. Fiftieth anniversary edition. A K Peters, Ltd., Wellesley, MA, 2006. xviii+188 pp. ISBN 1-56881-273-6
- A long way from Euclid. Reprint of the 1963 original. Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY, 2004. ISBN 0-486-43613-6
- CourantRichard CourantRichard Courant was a German American mathematician.- Life :Courant was born in Lublinitz in the German Empire's Prussian Province of Silesia. During his youth, his parents had to move quite often, to Glatz, Breslau, and in 1905 to Berlin. He stayed in Breslau and entered the university there...
in Göttingen and New York. The story of an improbable mathematician. Springer-Verlag, New York–Heidelberg, 1976. ISBN 0-387-90194-9 Reprint of the 1976 original: Copernicus, New York, 1996. ISBN 0-387-94670-5 - NeymanJerzy NeymanJerzy Neyman , born Jerzy Spława-Neyman, was a Polish American mathematician and statistician who spent most of his professional career at the University of California, Berkeley.-Life and career:...
. Reprint of the 1982 original. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-387-98357-0 - HilbertDavid HilbertDavid Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
. Reprint of the 1970 original. Copernicus, New York, 1996. ISBN 0-387-94674-8 - Julia. A life in mathematics. MAA Spectrum. Mathematical Association of America, Washington, DC, 1996. ISBN 0-88385-520-8
- The Search for E. T. Bell : Also Known as John Taine. Mathematical Association of America, Washington, DC, 1993. ISBN 0-88385-508-9
- Slacks and Calluses: Our Summer in a Bomber Factory (autobiography) Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1999. Reprint of Longmans, Green, New York, 1944 edition. ISBN 1-56098-368-X